So Andy and I have made our Oscar predictions – some winners seem so certain, while with certain categories, it feels like it is up to the toss of a coin. Feel free to publicly shame us when it turns out we are completely wrong with all of our predictions (though we do differ on some).

After the jump see our picks for who we think will win the Oscar and who (out of those nominated) we think should take it home.

Our picks are written next to the nominee we think will and/or should win. Sam’s picks are in blue, while Andrew’s picks are in orange.

This is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Oscar races in recent years. There are a handful of big categories here that, unusually, are a competition. The long-time favourite for Best Picture, Boyhood, may not end up with the Gold. The most interesting player in all this is Birdman, winner at the SAG for Best Ensemble Cast, DGA for Best Director and PGA for Best Film. If you win all of them, then you are very likely to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. But, Birdman may not win two key categories along the way – Best Original Screenplay (I predict The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Best Actor (Eddie Redmayne), so if it were to follow-up its Guild wins, it is probably only going to have Best Cinematography late into the night.

There is also the chance that voters will award Richard Linklater (Boyhood) for Best Director and then Birdman for Best Picture (or both to Boyhood, of course), which is even more bizarre if it still only has Best Cinematography. Another factor in Boyhood’s favour – Best Editing. I can’t remember the last time the Best Picture winner wasn’t at least nominated for Editing, and Boyhood will likely win. So, the interesting film to track throughout the show will be Birdman. I think the film will rank pretty high in votes across the board. Likely #2 in categories like Original Screenplay and Actor if it doesn’t take the Oscar, and I think that will translate into a Birdman win. This is just a bit of context for understanding my predictions, and why I feel like they are made with sound judgement. – ANDY

Actor
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Will win & Should win
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything” Will win & should win

Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher” Should win, Should Win
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash” Will win, Will win

Adapted Screenplay
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore Will win
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson Should win, Should win
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle Will win

Original Screenplay
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo Should win
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness Will win, Will win
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy Should win

Original Song
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson Should win, Will win & Should win
“Glory” from “Selma”
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond Will Win
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Sound Editing
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman Will win Will Win
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock Should win
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King Should win
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro